Bed clothes fasteneb



(No Model.) I

BED CLOTHES FASTENBR.

No. 267,498. Patented Nov. 14, 1882.

WITNESSES: INVBNTOR: MW M ATTORNEYS.

NrrED STATES PATENT ALLYN COX, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BED-CLOTHES FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 267,498, dated November14, 1882,

Application filed September 22, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLYN 00X, of the city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bed-ClothesFasteners, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to devices for preventing the bed-clothes on asleeping child or person from being worked off or displaced, so as toexpose the body to cold, by the restlessness of the occupant of the bed.While such devices are more especially advantageous for protecting thepersons of sleeping children, whom it is very difficult to keep coveredby simply tucking in the bed-clothes, as is usually done, they are alsoapplicable to adults, particularly invalids suffering from fevers orotherwise disposed to be restless in their beds. Ordinary jaw-clamps arenot sufficientof themselves to retain the bed-clothes in position on thebed, nor is simply tucking in the bedclothes under the sides or edges ofthe mattress or bed, and such mode of securing the clothes in place hasa restricting and oppressive effect upon the sleeper.

The object of this invention is to provide a bed-clothes fastener which,while it shall insure a firm hold of the bed-clothes and is capable ofbeing easily applied, will, in its connection with the bed or mattress,have a yielding or spring-like action that will relieve the hold of thebed-clothes from much or all restricting and oppressive effect upon theoccupant ofthe bed when turning thereon.

To these and other ends the invention comprises a clamp, one or more ofwhich are designed to be applied to opposite sides of the bed for gripon the bed-clothes, and a flexible strap-connection with said clamp forattachment to the mattress or bed or surface on which the bed lies,substantially as hereinafter described.

It also consists in a clamp of special construction and readyadaptability to the purpose for which it is designed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a transverse section of a bedstead with bed thereon,and showing my improved bed-clothes fastener applied. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of the fastener; Fig. 3, a vertical section of thesame, showing the bedclothes as held by it; and Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of a modified construction of the clamping portion of the fastener.

Referring in the first instance to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, Aindicates a bedstead, B the bed or mattress thereon, and O thebedclothes, applied to cover a sleeping form, and raised on the oneside, as by the act of a person turning. I

- E E are clamps arranged on opposite sides of the bedstead against thelongitudinal sides or marginal portions of the mattress, and serving tohold. the overhanging portions of the bed-clothes 0 within them. Theseclamps, of which there may be one or more down each side of the bed, arenot directly attached either to the bedstead or bed, but are connectedtherewith by flexible straps b, of leather or any other suitablematerial, arranged to pass under the bed or mattress B, and secured attheir inner ends to the bottom thereof or to one or more of the slats ofthe bedstead on which the mattress lies. By this arrangement andattachment of the clamps or bed-clothes fasteners, of which the clampsform a part, notonly are said devices always in place and ready forinsertion of the overhanging portions of the bed-clothes within them tokeep the child or person in the bed securely covered, but thearrangement is such that on any effort on the part of the occupant ofthe bed to turn or toss during sleep the clamps, by means of theirflexible connections or attachments b, will have a yielding or elasticeffect by reason of the yielding nature of the bed or mattress hugged bysaid straps and in a measure supported by them, so that in case of anystrenuous efi'ort on the part of the sleeper to draw off the clothesfrom either side the mattress will be more or less raised at said side.This does away with or reduces that restricting and oppressing effectwhich a positive or unyieldin g hold of the bed-clothes naturallyproduces.

It is not absolutely necessary that the strap- I) should be ofleather orother soft material, as it might be made of brass or other hard materialand be hinged orjointed to one ofthe slats. it only being requisite thatit should form a flexible connection with the bedstead or its mattressto lift and work with the latter as described. I prefer, in fact, toattach said strap to the bed-slats or other bed-bottom under themattress, or to a bracket projecting inward from the bed-side and underthe mattress, in order that the following objects may be attained,namely: first, to secure the flexible or elastic hold on the bed-clotheswhich has been described, and at the same time to furnish a fixedpositive hold on the bedstead itself; secondly, to allow the bed-clothesto be tucked under the edge of the mattress both inside and outside ofthe fastener; and, thirdly, to allow the mattress to be removed orturned when the bed is not in use without affecting the position of thefastener. It is important, however, that, while the clamps thus yield incommon with the mattress, they should securely grip the edge or fold ofthe bed-clothes introduced within them, and also that their constructionand action should be such as to admit of ready and convenientmanipulation under the conditions of actual use. I therefore make theclamp (see Figs. 2 and 3) so that its action is substantially that of awedge, against which the bed-clothes are held by a clip or slide, it,and I greatly increase the efficiency of the wedge by the introductionof a stout spring, (see the upright side orjaw 67,) which, by reason ofits elasticity, allows the clip k to be forced outward by its actionagainst the wedgesurface, so as to change itsline ofdirection and makethe wedge-angle sharper as the clip is forced upward. The application ofthe spring has the further advantage that it enables me to give to thewedge-surface acorrugated form, (see the upright side 0, Figs. 2 and 3,)which serves to lock the clip It in position at different points,according to the thickness of the material inserted and the degree offorce applied. It will also be seen that since the clip It moves freelyupon its own bearings, and its movement for effective action is in thesame direction as the strain whichitisintended to resist, any pull uponthe bed clothes will tend to tighten the hold of the clamp rather thanotherwise.

The clamp E, which may be made either in part or in wholeof metal or anyother suitable material, and which is firmly secured to the outer end ofthe strap b, is made with two up right sides, 0 (1, their inner surfaceshaving a general inclination toward each other as they rise from thebase 0, where they are united, but shaped or arranged to leavea'space,f, between them of suflicient capacity to receive the edges ofthe bed-clothes within it, and with a contracted month, 9, at the upperend of said receiving-space. ()ne of the sides, 0, of the clamp has ormay have internal corrugations, it, while the other side, d, is plain;and either or both of the sides may be stout springs, or they may beunited at the base by a sprin In the present instance the side a isrigid, while the side (I is a sprin As before indicated, the innersurface of the side 0 is shaped to increase its distance in a downwarddirection from the opposite side, d, which is fitted with a sliding clipor locking device, k, that, after the clothes have been inserted withinthe sides orjaws of the clamp, is drawn upward to grip the clothesagainst the sloping or wedging interior surface of the side 0, as shownin Fig. 3, so that by reason of the free movement of the clip is uponits own bearings and the yielding of the side d under pressure any pullupon the bed-clothes tends to tighten the clamp, and the farther theclip is forced upward between the jaws or sides 0 and d the sharper willbe the wedge-angle and the stronger the grasp of the clamp, resultingfrom a given force applied in an upward direction upon the clip. Bypressing down on said clip or looking device, however, the clothes mayreadily be taken out of the clamp when required.

Fig. 4 of the drawings represents a snbstantially similar clamp, butshows the movable locking device or clip k as pivoted to its one side,(I, for operation within the clothes-holding spacef, with a curvilinearlocking action on the clothes against the opposite side,c, which is ormay be corrugated. I do not, however, restrict my invention to eitherspecial construction of clamp herein described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to securebyLetters Patent- 1. In a bed-clothes fastener, the combination, with aclamp for holding the clothes, of an attached flexible connection forsecuring the fastener to the bottom of the mattress or to the bedsteadbeneath the bed or mattress, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the bed or mattress B, of the flexible strap orconnection I) and a clamp, I), essentially as shown and described.

8. In a bed-clothes-fastening clamp, E, the jaws or sides 0 d, united attheir base, but constructed to form a contracted space or mouth at theiropposite ends for reception of the clothes, and a wedging-surface withinthem for the hold of the clothes, in combination with the movable clipor locking device k, essentially as specified.

4. The combination, in the clamp E, of an elastic stand or holder,consisting of the two sides 0 and d, united at their base a andinclining toward each other as they rise from said base, with a movingclip, k, arranged to work upon or against one of the sides, d, andhaving an elastic hearing, as produced by the elastic construction ofsaid holder, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the rigid internallycorrugated side 0 of theclamp, the elastic side orjaw d, and the sliding clip k, substantiallyas specified.

ALLYN COX.

WVitnesses:

A. E. Barton, Enw. M. CLARK.

